Descanso Gardens - 2008

Los Angeles Zoo - 2008

I feel comfortable posting some photos that I’ve been sitting on for a while. In fact, till very recently, I hadn’t wanted to post anything from this trip because some of the unpleasant memories from the day. Long story and I’m not going to go there.

Last summer badgerphone, my kids and I went out to meet and explore a site referred to me by horizon_eyes - an abandoned oil refinery. Given that southern California used to be a major oil producing region and there are many wells still operating here, I found it ironic to see a 60+ acre gasoline refinery completely decommissioned. We got there before our companions and had the chance to explore three houses which lay abandoned outside the refinery gates.


Welcome and mind your step

( Memories hang heavily here [17 behind the cut] )

Last August, I had the pleasure of shooting over a beautiful summer morning with burlesque performers Bonnie Delight and Lola Lee. For almost 2 and a half hours, we worked through different poses and played off each other’s ideas. We were going for the very Victorian Gothic look in this shoot with touches of sexy. These shots are some of the color highlights. The ladies were very creative and melodramatic in their posing in keeping with the theme.





( Color Highlights (8 behind the cut) )

One of the nicest boosts I could have gotten in early March, was being invited to go to the first SLOPED! Show at The M Bar, in Hollywood. After leaving my previous employer and being very depressed over the situation, singer Amanda Rowse contacted me with the invite. This was their first installment in what promises to be a series of variety shows with musicians, comedy, videos and dancers. It did wonders to help me get motivated and relieve the stress.<

Slow Mo Erotic is a performance duo who create some rather “interesting songs” very applicable to the burlesque stage.

One of the nicest boosts I could have gotten in early March was being invited to go to the first SLOPED! Show at the M Bar in Hollywood. After leaving my previous employer and being very depressed over the situation, singer Amanda Rowse contacted me with the invite. This was their first installment in what promises to be a series of variety shows with musicians, comedy, videos and dancers. It did wonders to help me get motivated and relieve the stress.

The following act had me very excited. It was a duet with Mr. Sean Howard on piano and Miss Amanda Rowse singing. Wow. Amanda has a powerful voice and great presence on stage.

One of the nicest boosts I could have gotten in early March was being invited to go to the first SLOPED! Show at the M Bar in Hollywood. After leaving my previous employer and being very depressed over the situation, singer Amanda Rowse contacted me with the invite. This was their first installment in what promises to be a series of variety shows with musicians, comedy, videos and dancers. It did wonders to help me get motivated and relieve the stress.

Because of the variety nature of the show, I combined the images of the MC for the evening, Rob Z and with cohort on keyboard, Brandon Meyer, into a single slide show. Between each of the acts these talented gentlemen carried the show and kept everyone excited.

Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last February.

Thank for your patience in my breaking this set up in two parts. This set mainly covers the second half of the show and features the members of The FreakShow Deluxe! Rev. Tommy Gunn closed out their set in style with a classic act.

Rev Tommy Gunn – The Bed of Nails


( Get the point (part 2)? (1 behind the cut) )

Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last February.

Thank for your patience in my breaking this set up in two parts. This set mainly covers the second half of the show and features the members of The FreakShow Deluxe!

Brother Daniel the Demented – Human Pin Cushion


( Get the point? (1 behind the cut) )

Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last February.

Thank for your patience in my breaking this set up in two parts. This set mainly covers the second half of the show and features the members of The FreakShow Deluxe!

Amy Amnesia - Escapist


( Kinky.. er.. impressive. (1 behind the cut) )

Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last February.

Thank for your patience in my breaking this set up in two parts. This set mainly covers the second half of the show and features the members of The FreakShow Deluxe!

Rev. Tommy Gunn, the strongest ears in Vaudeville


( Yes, it’s a real brick, hanging from his ears (1 behind the cut) )

One of the last shows I caught in February was Devil's Playground. Burlesque is a form of expression and creativity. Some have said that Kitten De Ville is the living legend and the embodiment of burlesque today. She’s a former Miss Exotic World and has appeared in many books and magazines devoted to this style of performance art. With moves that would make most belly dancers envious, Kitten literally vibrated her out of her outer costume.



( ”Shimmy! )

One of the last shows I caught in February was Devil's Playground. This is a more modern and very sexy take on burlesque and many of the beautiful ladies in this show work as models. Burlesque is a form of expression and creativity for them. Diamondback Annie is an amazing sprite of a performer with an energetic; take no prisoners attitude most of the time. This show, she took into a slightly different direction. She became a middle aged, MILF in a convincing fashion.




( ”MILF )

One of the last shows I caught in February was Devil's Playground. This is a more modern and very sexy take on burlesque and many of the beautiful ladies in this show work as models. Burlesque is a form of expression and creativity for them. The first act of the night was a young woman I’d been fortunate to see debut over a year earlier. Cinnamon Britches put on an energetic show and fired up the crowd.



( ”Let )

One of the last shows I caught in February was Devil's Playground. This is a more modern and very sexy take on burlesque and many of the beautiful ladies in this show work as models. Burlesque is a form of expression and creativity for them.

As with the previous Devil's Playground show, before the ladies entertain, they presented another really good local band. Little Mo and the Unholy Four" play a very hot version of Rock-a-billy music that dates back to the 1950's. If you get the chance to hear them perform, it's well worth it.




( One more for good measure )

What’s a variety show without the burlesque performers? Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last month.

Just before a halfway break in the show, Veronique and the keyboardist “Promis” preformed a duet.




The second half of the show coming soon!

What’s a variety show without the burlesque performers? Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last month.

As Miss Amy Amnesia cleaned up the broken glass, Rev. Tommy Gunn performed some nail biting entertainment for the audience.. or was that nose picking..? He was followed by Rev. Vincent Wolfe who enjoyed a “light” snack.



( Nails and glass (2 behind the cut) )

What’s a variety show without the burlesque performers? Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last month.

Miss Amy Amnesia followed Brother Daniel for her first set. It seems Amy forgot to clean up the broken glass. Then she forgot that you weren’t supposed to jump on it as well.



( Bouncy bouncy (1 behind the cut) )

What’s a variety show without the burlesque performers? Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last month. It was an interesting evening in more than a few ways. The bar was surrounded by major road construction so the crowd was light. The other thing was the true Vaudeville nature of the show. No burlesque dancers.. instead, members of the legendary “FreakShow Deluxe” were there to wow the audience. The format was set up with four acts and break then the same four acts returned to do more.

Members of FreakShow Deluxe performed in their own individual sets. Introduced by Reverend Tommy Gunn, here’s a slide show of the first set by my friend – Brother Daniel the Demented.



( Twisted and contorted (1 behind the cut) )

What’s a variety show without the burlesque performers? Vaudeville, is the precursor to modern TV variety programming and dates all the way back to the side shows of the traveling carnivals. Veronique CheVALier was the hostess and organizer of the “Red Velvet Variety Show” at The Bordello Bar in Los Angeles last month. It was an interesting evening in more than a few ways. The bar was surrounded by major road construction so the crowd was light. The other thing was the true Vaudeville nature of the show. No burlesque dancers.. instead, members of the legendary “FreakShow Deluxe” were there to wow the audience. The format was set up with four acts and break then the same four acts returned to do more.


Veronique introduced and sang between each act, making her an act as well

( Fire and spice (9 behind the cut) )